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Sarasota city manager may get special job evaluation

A moderator may may be used in City Manager Tom Barwin's upcoming performance evaluation. That would be a departure from the city's usual method, which involves commissioners meeting directly with charter officials and assessing their performance via a standard form.

Published: Sunday, January 5, 2014 at 5:29 p.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, January 5, 2014 at 5:29 p.m.

SARASOTA - Because of a special clause in City Manager Tom Barwin's contract, a professional management consultant may be hired to help grade his performance after one year on the job.

City commissioners today will consider whether to hire Larry Ross, a professor of business administration at Florida Southern College, to act as a moderator in Barwin's upcoming performance evaluation. That would be a departure from the city's usual method, which involves commissioners meeting directly with charter officials and assessing their performance via a standard form.

That traditional method will be used when City Attorney Bob Fournier and City Auditor and Clerk Pam Nadalini are evaluated in the next two months.

But for Barwin the process will be more complex. His contract, negotiated last year, says his review must be “moderated and facilitated by a mutually agreed upon third party.”

City Commissioner Suzanne Atwell, who was involved in hiring Barwin last year, said the requirement was a new one for Sarasota, but that she welcomed it.

“I hope this will make it more comprehensive,” she said. “You get a lot more accomplished. But we need to set the parameters.”

Under the proposed contract, part of Ross' job would be to act as a go-between, first meeting with Barwin and then with each commissioner and the mayor before preparing a final report. The results would later be presented publicly with the commissioners and Barwin.

The goal, according to a letter from Stacie Mason, the city's human resources director, is to make the performance evaluation a “constructive, team-building exercise.”

Ross, who teaches marketing, hospitality and strategic planning, also works as a consultant in the food service industry and has performed similar work for years in Polk County and Lakeland, where he lives. Earlier this year, he was hired to help a citizen commission report on Lakeland's troubled police department.

Bill Beasely, the deputy county manager in Polk County, said Ross seems to be well-liked there.

“If repeat customers is an indication of satisfaction, we are repeat customers,” he said.

Barwin and Ross did not return calls seeking comment on Friday.

City Commissioner Paul Caragiulo said he planned to raise questions at today's meeting. He said he wanted to see any template evaluation forms Ross was likely to use, and wondered if the contract intended that Barwin would write the criteria for his own evaluation.

“It's not clear who's going to be setting the parameters,” he said. “That begs the question: who's working for who?”

Commissioners are also likely to ask the city attorney whether parts of Barwin's evaluation process should be open to the public. Florida's open government law will already be on the minds of some, since it was the source of many of Barwin's difficulties over the past year.

The city has been sued several times in recent months over alleged violations of open meetings and open records requirements.

“My criticism of him would be that I would like for him to pay attention to how public business is done in the state of Florida,” Caragiulo said of Barwin, who previously worked in Michigan and Illinois. “Not how it's done elsewhere.”

Atwell said she also planned to suggest that some members of the public be included in the evaluation process.

Ross' proposal outlines a schedule of performance evaluations from Jan. 6 to March. His fee is $3,500, though he could bill more if the commissioners give him other tasks.

<p><em>SARASOTA</em> - Because of a special clause in City Manager Tom Barwin's contract, a professional management consultant may be hired to help grade his performance after one year on the job. </p><p>City commissioners today will consider whether to hire Larry Ross, a professor of business administration at Florida Southern College, to act as a moderator in Barwin's upcoming performance evaluation. That would be a departure from the city's usual method, which involves commissioners meeting directly with charter officials and assessing their performance via a standard form. </p><p>That traditional method will be used when City Attorney Bob Fournier and City Auditor and Clerk Pam Nadalini are evaluated in the next two months.</p><p> But for Barwin the process will be more complex. His contract, negotiated last year, says his review must be “moderated and facilitated by a mutually agreed upon third party.” </p><p>City Commissioner Suzanne Atwell, who was involved in hiring Barwin last year, said the requirement was a new one for Sarasota, but that she welcomed it.</p><p> “I hope this will make it more comprehensive,” she said. “You get a lot more accomplished. But we need to set the parameters.”</p><p>Under the proposed contract, part of Ross' job would be to act as a go-between, first meeting with Barwin and then with each commissioner and the mayor before preparing a final report. The results would later be presented publicly with the commissioners and Barwin. </p><p>The goal, according to a letter from Stacie Mason, the city's human resources director, is to make the performance evaluation a “constructive, team-building exercise.” </p><p>Ross, who teaches marketing, hospitality and strategic planning, also works as a consultant in the food service industry and has performed similar work for years in Polk County and Lakeland, where he lives. Earlier this year, he was hired to help a citizen commission report on Lakeland's troubled police department. </p><p>Bill Beasely, the deputy county manager in Polk County, said Ross seems to be well-liked there.</p><p> “If repeat customers is an indication of satisfaction, we are repeat customers,” he said. </p><p>Barwin and Ross did not return calls seeking comment on Friday. </p><p>City Commissioner Paul Caragiulo said he planned to raise questions at today's meeting. He said he wanted to see any template evaluation forms Ross was likely to use, and wondered if the contract intended that Barwin would write the criteria for his own evaluation.</p><p>“It's not clear who's going to be setting the parameters,” he said. “That begs the question: who's working for who?”</p><p>Commissioners are also likely to ask the city attorney whether parts of Barwin's evaluation process should be open to the public. Florida's open government law will already be on the minds of some, since it was the source of many of Barwin's difficulties over the past year.</p><p>The city has been sued several times in recent months over alleged violations of open meetings and open records requirements.</p><p> “My criticism of him would be that I would like for him to pay attention to how public business is done in the state of Florida,” Caragiulo said of Barwin, who previously worked in Michigan and Illinois. “Not how it's done elsewhere.”</p><p>Atwell said she also planned to suggest that some members of the public be included in the evaluation process.</p><p>Ross' proposal outlines a schedule of performance evaluations from Jan. 6 to March. His fee is $3,500, though he could bill more if the commissioners give him other tasks.</p>